Association for Behavior Analysis International

Early diagnosis of autism in children younger than 3 has increasingly become more prevalent. Intensive behavioral intervention (IBI), utilizing the principles of applied behavior analysis has been proven an effective intervention for individuals with autism. With early diagnosis, the question remains, what intensity of behavioral intervention is appropriate and effective for toddlers with autism? This case study compares the intensity of behavior intervention for two toddlers with autism on skill acquisition across 10 learning and developmental domains.Because offunding resources, one individual had access to an average of 35 hours per week of IBI and one individual had access to an average of 10 hours per week, with gaps in service delivery. At baseline, both individuals had similar scores on the ABLLS-R in the areas of language, play, socialization and visual performance skills. After one year of IBI, the individual who received higher intensity of behavioral intervention, increased to levels aligned with normative data. The individual who received significantly less intensity, made gains in most areas, but remains far from levels observed in the normative data. While there are limitations, including the small sample size, this study urges further research in accessible and effective interventions for toddlers with autism.

Abstract In Experiment 1, the perseverative speech of our participants with Asperger's Syndrome was analyzed to identify the maintaining variable(s) and whether the speech was a skill or performance deficit. Each participant was tested on three, randomly assigned conditions (control, attention-social, escape-social). The conditions included a typical peer who was trained to provide attention during the attention-social condition and restrict attention during the escape-social condition contingent upon occurrences of perseverative speech. Results of Experiment 1 show access to social attention as the maintaining variable of perseverative speech for each participant. Results also indicate perserverative speech was a skill deficit for one participant and a performance deficit for three participants. In Experiment 2, the same four participants were exposed to 10-minute presession attention conditions in which attention was either withheld completely, provided by a peer or provided by an adult. Following each presession, participants were then tested in a 10-minute session similar to the social attention condition in Experiment 1. Results show presession access to peer attention decreased perseverative speech for three participants and access to adult attention decreased perseverative speech for one participant.

Preference assessments are used to identify preferred stimuli. The study was conducted to determine if there was a difference in identifying effective reinforcers between a brief multiple-stimulus without replacement (MSWO) assessment and a dynamic assessment used by the Lovaas Institute. Dynamic assessment refers to a method similar to single-stimulus preference assessment that includes a reinforcer assessment, and changes reinforcers based on child responding. Participants included four child-staff member pairs. Three dependent variables were measured in a multi-element design during both types of assessment sessions: percent correct trials, assessment duration, and frequency of child protests. The results showed higher percent correct and fewer protests with the dynamic assessment for three out of four pairs, and shorter assessment duration with the brief MSWO assessment for all four pairs. These results suggest that the dynamic assessment might be a more effective preference assessment in identifying effective reinforcers in an applied setting with the child's usual therapists.

A task analysis, graduated prompting, and prompt fading strategies were used to teach a 12-year-old boy with autism and no history of verbal communication to make a breakfast choices and communicate that choice to the appropriate person. During intervention, the participant was taught to use an iPad@ with the Proloquo2go@ application to choose a breakfast item and communicate the choice to the school cafeteria worker. Baseline data indicated the participant was unable to complete one to three steps of the seven steps of the task analysis. Graduated prompting and visual cues were utilized during intervention. Results indicated the student was able to independently chose and communicate his breakfast choice. With brief implementation of intervention procedures, the behavior generalized to making and communicating a lunch choice.

A multiple baseline design across items was used to teach a nonvocal, 11-year-old boy with autism, to ask a question for help in finding missing objects using an iPad as a communication aid. The child made daily trips into the local community and needed to collect necessary items, shoes, coat, and bag. He required the items to be set in specific locations and if not in the specific location he would wander around the house making utterances and often return with an incorrect item. The child was taught to request assistance using an iPad with Prologue2go@. The child scrolled to a general question button , then to "where's my" button, and then to a picture of the missing/needed item. Results showed a rapid acquisition of the behavior and generalization from requesting assistance from the therapist to the parent. Further generalization was noted for locating three additional items: tissues, TV remote, and water bottle.

The current study replicates and extends Koegel, Dunlap, and Dyer (1980) by examining the effects of different intertial interval (ITI) on skill acquisition. The study evaluated the effect of 2-s (short), 20-s (long), and 2- to 20-s (progressive) ITI on participants' mastery of tacts or intraverbals within massed-trial or interspersed conditions.The study also measured stereotypic and problem behavior during ITI intervals. Two students diagnosed with autism participated in this study. An adapted-alternating treatment design embedded within a multiple-probe design was used. Results indicated that the short ITI condition was associated with the most efficient acquisition of skills, due to the short duration of these sessions. In addition, participants engaged in higher levels of stereotypic and problem behavior during long and progressive ITIs in comparison to short ITIs.The poster will discuss these results in relation to recommendations for training as well as maintenance and generalization of skills acquired in each condition.

The purpose of this study was to increase correct responding on receptive language tasks for which children had shown an ability to accurately complete, but responded to inconsistently or inaccurately. The target was chosen to address motivation and attending behaviors, rather than a deficit in receptive language skills. The authors conducted a paired stimulus preference assessment with toys and edibles, and established the discriminative stimuli (instructions such as "touch nose", "clap hands", or "touch cup") as reinforcers by pairing the instructions with preferred reinforcers. The authors alternated these pairing trials with testing trials in which the child was required to make the relevant response to receive the reinforcer. To show the instructions came to function as reinforcers, they used only the instructions to increase the frequency of another response. When the child reliably completed the relevant behavior in the presence of three instructions, the authors tested for generalization with more directions. This procedure gives behavior analysts a process for manipulating antecedent conditions to increase attending and motivation to attend to tasks for which children have shown mastery or have demonstrated the skills to complete.

Matching-to-sample is generally acquired early on using discrete trial training and is a prerequisite for learning more complex discriminations as the curriculum progresses. When this skill is not acquired, it can lead to deficits in abilities that impede other areas of learning. A common approach is to use an error correction procedure in which a prompt, typically following a least-to-most prompting strategy, occurs after the response has been made. Another alternative is errorless learning which involves the manipulation of a task that reduces the possibility for errors to be made (Mueller, Palkovic & Maynard, 2007). For the purpose of this project, a comparison of the effectiveness and efficiency of an error correction and errorless learning procedure in the acquisition of matching-to-sample for two children diagnosed with autism in the Early Childhood Developmental Delay classroom at WoodsEdge Learning Center. Prior to intervention, child A matched at below chance levels ranging from 0% to 40%, and child B matched stimuli correctly 0% to 30% of baseline sessions. A comparative analysis using an AB, multielement design will be used to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of error correction compared to errorless learning with time delay in the acquisition of a matching-to-sample task.

The purpose of this study is to increase independent manding and motivation for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders by implementing a pivotal response model used by Koegel and Koegel. Manding is a behavior analytic term for a verbal request made by a person. The outcome of this behavior is receiving the requested item. Manding is identified as a pivotal behavior because an improvement in this behavior will positively affect a variety of other behaviors (Koegel & Koegel, 1999). This procedure will take place in a naturalistic environment to increase the child's motivation and will use a shaping method to increase successive vocal approximations to the mand. Vocal prompts will be used and faded as the children progress through the procedure. This intervention may provide the behavior analysis community with more precise information about the pivotal response procedure that increases the pivotal behavior of independent manding and increased motivation so that more appropriate skills can be learned. Hopefully, the data will show an increase in the child's approximations to several words that function as requests. This ultimate goal is for the child to independently use these words to request desired items and activities.

The SD (discriminative stimulus) procedure and the pairing procedure are two methods used to establish social praise as a conditioned reinforcer in children with autism. The pairing procedure was used daily in an informal manner at the site of the intervention and did not effectively alter the value of social praise for the children who participated in the intervention. The SD procedure was used in this intervention because the literature reports that it can be effective. The main goal of this project was to determine whether SD could effectively alter the reinforcing value of short social praise statements in children with autism. The procedure used a single subject research design with pre and post-tests. The intervention consisted of delivering a short praise statement ("Terrific!") which indicated that if the child then completed the desired behavior--holding their hand out in front of them--they would receive a tangible reinforcer. The praise statement's reinforcing value was measured using a variety of pre- and post-intervention tests, including reinforcer assessments.

The purpose of this study was to train three children diagnosed with autism to discriminate between appropriate times and inappropriate times to engage in stereotypic behaviors. In the procedure, inappropriate times were signaled by the presence of the wristband and appropriate times for stereotypy were signaled by the absence of the wristband. When the child was wearing the wristband and engaged in stereotypy, response interruption was implemented. When the child was not wearing the wristbands stereotypy was not followed by response interruption. For one of the three children, the interruption procedure resulted in less stereotypy when he was wearing the wristband, but not for the other two children.

Vocal stereotypy is behavior frequently seen in those diagnosed with autism, often consisting of "noncontextual or nonfunctional speech" (Miguel, et. al. 2009). In 2007, Ahearn and his colleagues successfully used Response Interruption and Redirection (RIRD) to produce a substantially lower rate of vocal stereotypy in four children diagnosed with autism. The goal of RIRD is to interrupt the inappropriate speech and redirect the individual to more appropriate speech. In Ahearn's study, they presented vocal tasks contingent on the children's stereotypy, thereby interrupting the inappropriate speech. Vocal stereotypy can be a serious problem when it disrupts children's daily instructional sessions and slows their skill acquisition. Such was the case in a local early childhood special education classroom. We implemented RIRD using an AB experimental design with the goal of decreasing the frequency of a child's vocal stereotypy during instructional time. When the child engaged in vocal stereotypy, we immediately asked him to engage in a vocal or motor task already in his repertoire, such as phrase imitation or physical imitation. We also implemented a Differential Reinforcement of Other behavior (DRO) procedure in which he earned tokens (later exchanged for reinforcers) for periods of time with no vocal stereotypy.

The goals of this study are to implement a picture activity schedule to use pictures to represent the corresponding activities the student is to be working on, and increase on-task performance and compliance while reducing problem behavior. The picture activity schedule will pair pictures with each activity the student engages in throughout the school day. There will be an opportunity for the student to select his or her preferred activity to engage in and an opportunity for the student to select the order of multiple activities. An opportunity for functional communication training also will be offered. The picture activity schedule will help in transitioning from one environment to another by showing students where it is they are transitioning to. One important goal to accomplish for the contribution and development of behavior analysis is to allow students a sense of autonomy by allowing them to have some control over their daily schedule. The picture activity schedule will allow for student-based decision making, functional communication and motivation for working. It will also prepare students for a transition from a one-on-one setting, to a group skills environment.

The purpose of this project is to evaluate an alternative way to increase vocal manding (i.e., requesting) in children who are currently using the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). The present study will use an AB design, combining the PECS protocol with Pivotal Response Training to teach independent vocal manding. In addition, the frequency of problem behaviors will also be measured. For the purpose of this study, independent variables will be as follows: independent manding, tantrums, and disruptions. The goal of the research is to see an increase in independent vocal manding along with a decreasing trend in problem behavior after the implementation of pivotal response training. Preliminary results indicated the Pivotal Response Training was effective for the participants in this study. Baseline rates of independent vocal manding were observed near 0 throughout several 30-minute sessions for both participants and took minimal trials to meet mastery criterion once the intervention was implemented. One participant showed an increase in independent vocal manding with a variety of tutors and at home.

Studies have shown that compliance while transitioning from one activity to another increases the amount of time than can be spent engaging in academic learning. Furthermore, studies have also examined the use of interventions and techniques whose goal is to increase compliance in transitioning in a classroom setting. However, little literature exists in examining the utility of using a sequence of high probability requests to decrease problem behavior and trantruming during transitioning. A sequence of high probability requests is a sequence of requests given in which the child or participant has a high probability or high likelihood of correctly complying with. The goal of the present study will be to use an AB withdrawal design to investigate the effectiveness of increasing compliance during transitioning by using a sequence of high probability requests by classroom tutors preceding a request to transition from one preferred activity to another nonpreferred or less preferred activity.

Direct Instruction is an evidence-based curriculum designed for effective group instruction. Many Discrete Trial Training (DTT) programs excel at one-on-one instruction but fail to prepare students with autism for a mainstream classroom that depends on group instruction. This project will focus on one method that may help transition children with autism from DTT to group instruction by focusing on increasing choral responding. The participants will be children diagnosed with autism who have a history of one-on-one DTT. The study will use a changing criterion design across students' design for the intervention. A baseline will be collected to evaluate the children's behavior of responding immediately after the presentation of a hand signal. Then each child will be presented with the same lesson in the booth until he or she responds at the appropriate time after the signal with the use of intermittent reinforcement. Then, a group lesson will be taught again and the data will be compared accordingly. Then, another lesson will be presented to the same group in order to measure the amount of generalization that has occurred due to the individualized training of responding to the signals presented by the instructor.

A treatment package was to be implemented for a child in an early intervention intensive behavior therapy classroom to reduce hair pulling. This problem behavior was inhibiting the child's ability to interact with other children and staff in the learning environment as well as constraining the amount of expected learning achieved in a typical day. The treatment package used addressed multiple functions that were maintaining the problem behavior to obtain a reduction in hair pulling. Treatment packages can be used to address problem behaviors that may have multiple functions or functions that are difficult to identify. This problem behavior had several maintaining functions and required a package of interventions in order to decrease hair pulling. A single subject design was used which included a baseline and intervention phase. Findings in the study should contribute to the current body of research on treatment packages and interventions used in a classroom setting to reduce problem behavior.

Eye contact is a skill necessary for all aspects of life and is crucial to the proper development of a person. The diagnosis of autism entails social deficits such as a lack of eye contact; this problem is compounded over time because without eye contact progressive skills, such as joint attention, cannot be attained. The purpose of this study is to increase eye contact by using a shaping procedure with children diagnosed with autism in a special education setting. Eye contact is considered to be a facilitator, if not a prerequisite, to instruction (Carolynn C. Hamlet, Saul Axelrod, and Steven Kuerschner) and the acquisition of this skill is paramount to academic and nonacademic success. A multiple baseline across participants will be used in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the unprompted shaping procedure. This study could potentially become part of the regular curriculum for the Early Childhood Developmental Delay classroom at WoodsEdge Learning Center, and has the possibility of helping all future students who enter the classroom.

Stimulus-stimulus pairing (SSP) has been found to increase specific vocal responding in children with developmental disabilities, while direct reinforcement (DR) increases behavior that the reinforcer follows. The combined use of SSP and DR has been shown to be effective in increasing vocalizations when working with children diagnosed with developmental disabilities (Fronapfel-Sonderegger, 2012). In this direct replication, the participant was a 3-year-old girl enrolled in an early childhood special education classroom. At baseline, she demonstrated the phonemes that occurred less than 30% of the time. This study utilized a changing criterion research design in which the level of complexity increased as each phoneme was mastered. Phonemes that occurred at a minimal frequency were targeted by requiring the student to mand for a reinforcer that included a specific phoneme that was part of the terminal word (e.g., "buh" for bubbles). At present, results from the study have shown an increase in vocal responding.

A considerable amount of studies have documented the effectiveness of behavioral interventions in increasing food acceptance and flexibility (Koegel et al., 2011; Ahearn, Castine, Nault, & Green, 2001; Tarbox, Schiff, & Najdowski, 2010). For example, Koegel et al. (2011) successfully demonstrated the effectiveness of using individualized reinforcers and hierarchical exposure to increase food flexibility in three children with autism. The results show that all three children not only expanded their food repertoire but also increased their spontaneous request for the new food during follow-up/generalization probes. This current study replicates Koegel et al.'s (2011) study by increasing food acceptance of three children with autism during in-home therapy sessions. A nonconcurrent clinical replication design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of using differential reinforcement and a desensitization/hierarchical exposure procedure in increasing food acceptance. Results indicate that all participants increased their food acceptance for six to eight novel or nonpreferred food items in 33 to 77 sessions. The treatment fidelity data was recorded during intervention period to ensure that each parent followed the correct intervention procedures. In addition, the social validity questionnaire was conducted during the post-intervention. All parents reported that they feel comfortable using the same intervention to introduce more new food items.

To date, the University of California at Los Angeles method of early intensive behavioral intervention has received the most large-scale research attention and empirical support. However, alternative behavioral methods have also emerged, including the Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) and the Verbal Behavior (VB) methods. This study compared the outcomes of 14 children with autism participating in a community-based group program based on the VB method to the outcomes of 14 children participating in a community-based program based on the PRT method during a 12-month period. Assessments were conducted to measure cognitive, language, and adaptive behavior skills, as well as problem behavior and parenting stress. A 2x2 mixed-model analysis of variance showed statistically significant changes during 12 months in IQ scores, receptive and expressive language age equivalents, and problem behavior scores. Significant findings were not found for either adaptive behavior scores or parenting stress scores. Changes in cognitive and adaptive behavior scores were similar to those reported in published UCLA-based studies of similar intensity. Although additional research is needed to examine the long-term effectiveness of the programs examined in this study, it appears that they both hold promise as effective autism early intervention approaches that are relatively cost-effective.

The use of strategies to promote independent demonstration of skills across setting is a critical component in improving the post-secondary outcomes for adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This research assessed the impact of an individual work system on the independent demonstration of task initiation and task completion in the home setting with three adolescents with ASD. Participant accuracy was measured, as well as parent prompting, during parent and adolescent selected household tasks that supported broader independent living skills, including cooking, laundry, and lunch packing. Work systems, an element of structured teaching developed by Division TEACCH, are organized sets of visual information that inform an individual about participation in work areas. A multiple-baseline-across-participants design was used to evaluate the effects of the work systems and overall response gains, indicated by comparing task initiation and task completion across participants and condition, were evident. The results were maintained through the 1-month follow-up.

iPads are increasingly used in the education of children with autism. However, few empirical studies have examined the effects of iPads on student behaviors. The purpose of this study was to compare academic instruction delivered with an iPad to instruction delivered through traditional materials for two students with autism spectrum disorder who engaged in escape-maintained challenging behavior. An ABAB reversal design was utilized in which academic instruction with an iPad and academic instruction with traditional paper and pencil materials was compared. Both participants demonstrated lower levels of challenging behavior and higher levels of academic engagement in the iPad condition and higher levels of challenging behavior with lower levels of task engagement during the traditional materials condition. These results suggest that the use of an iPad as a means of instructional delivery may reduce escape-maintained behavior for some children with autism.

Insistence on sameness, stereotyped movements, and resistance to change constitute a core diagnostic characteristic of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), (American Psychiatry Association, 2000). This lack of behavioral flexibility (Wahlberg & Jordan, 2001) generally interferes in the individual's functional life, and can lead to deficits in problem solving and coping skills (Green et al., 2007). The purpose of this study was to assess the function of behavioral inflexibility for three children with ASD using experimental functional analysis and develop a corresponding treatment plan to decrease challenging behavior associated with interruption of routines or rituals. A multiple baseline design across routines/rituals was used to evaluate the use of functional communication training and signaled delay to reinforcement on challenging behavior and appropriate communication during routine interruptions. Results demonstrate a decrease to near zero levels of challenging behavior for all participants and an increase in appropriate communication skills across all routines. Generalized flexibility to untrained routines was observed for one participant. Implications for future research and practice are presented.

This paper systematically reviews the research on teaching individuals with autism to ask questions, or mand for information. Database, hand, and ancestry searches identified 21 studies for review. Each study was analyzed and summarized in terms of (a) participant characteristics (b) dependent variables, (c) intervention procedures, and (d) outcomes. All 21 studies reported positive outcomes, meaning that participants acquired or improved question-asking skills. Studies taught participants to ask the following types of questions: "what", "where", "who", "which", "when", and "how". The questions "Can I see it?" and "Can I have it?" were also taught. One study taught the generalized mand for information: "I don't know. Please tell me." Another study improved question-asking skills of high-functioning adolescents, while focusing on many different types of questions. Various intervention procedures were utilized including: naturalistic teaching, discrete trial training, token economies, small group training, picture communication systems, video modeling and scripts. All 21 studies employed behavior-analytic techniques. Intervention procedures, effects of motivating operations, generalization, implications for communication programs, and future research directions are discussed.

The current study evaluated an assessment procedure for identifying the work to reward ratios necessary for compliance in an 8-year-old male with autism spectrum disorder for whom the severity of behavior problems precluded the use traditional assessment methods. A precursor analysis (e.g., Smith & Churchill, 2002) showed that the behaviors were multiply maintained by access to food and escape from task demands. During the choice analysis, the participant was given the choice between completing matching tasks to earn preferred food items, or taking a brief break with no demands or no food. The number of matching tasks was increased incrementally across trials, whereas the quantity of the food reward remained constant. The results showed that the participant chose and successfully completed the work option (without challenging behavior) on a large majority of trials when the number of tasks to be completed was 15 or less. When the number of tasks beyond that number, the number of trials in which the participant selected the break option and/or engaged in challenging behavior also increased. This type of analysis may be effective for identifying the conditions under which children with escape-maintained behavior problems will comply with task demands.

Employment services are a difficult but critical intervention to best serve individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). These individuals often make good employees once they are trained but training can be difficult because of communication, social, and executive function deficits. Many individuals with ASD can learn better using visual supports, particularly video. Research supports both video modeling and video prompting for teaching skills to individuals with ASD, but most research focuses on young children. Some studies do demonstrate the use of video as an effective tool for employment but often only have 1-3 participants in the study. Because the literature does not strongly support a method of video for employment, this study looks at the effectiveness of video modeling versus video prompting for teaching skills needed to work in the food service industry. Skills include personal hygeine, cleaning, health standards, food preparation, food storage, cooking, and customer service. Teen participants are taught skills in a home setting that will help them for later employment while adults are taught primarily in commercial settings. Task analyses for each skill are used to create either a video model or a video prompting training video that participants use to learn the specific skills. Video modeling and video prompting will be compared for efficiency, accuracy, and motivation with 20 participants. Social validity, generalization, and reliability data will be collected and baseline characteristics of students (functional skills, communication, cognitive ability, autism severity, etc.) will be collected to help better define which types of individuals may respond best to which type of video intervention. Mobile technology (iPads) is being utilized for efficiency and to provide reinforcement in the training environment.

Many professionals have successfully implemented discrete trial teaching in the past. However, there have not been extensive studies examining the accuracy of discrete trial teaching implementation. This study investigated the use of bug-in-ear feedback on the accuracy of discrete trial teaching implementation among two preservice teachers majoring in elementary education and one preservice teacher majoring in exceptional education. An adult confederate was used to receive discrete trial teaching. Implementing a multiple baseline across participants design, this study examined whether there was a functional relationship between receiving bug-in-ear feedback and the accuracy of discrete trial teaching implementation. The discrete trial teaching evaluation form was utilized to measure the accuracy of discrete trial teaching implementation. The findings demonstrated an increase in the discrete trial teaching implementation accuracy after bug-in-ear feedback was introduced. Participants agreed that using a self-instruction manual combined with receiving bug-in-ear feedback was beneficial in learning to implement discrete trial teaching.

Behavior profiles are common among certain disabilities; however, they are frequently comprised of behavior topography. While topography profiles are helpful, this research begins to uncover behavior profiles based on function. Applied behavior analysis emphasizes the identification of the function of behavior in the description, assessment, and management of problem behavior. Functional analyses are the gold standard for identifying variables that maintain problem behaviors. The purpose of this systematic literature review was to identify potential behavioral phenotypes among autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in the existing functional analysis literature. Studies included in the review were those that (a) identified participants as diagnosed with an ASD, (b) identified problem behavior topography, and (c) conducted a functional analysis of problem behavior. The included studies were analyzed in terms of (a) participants' characteristics, (b) problem behavior topography, and (c) problem behavior function. Patterns of topography and function of behaviors across ASD diagnoses will be identified. If behavior phenotypes among specific diagnoses exist, it is likely that such information could be utilized for the prevention of development of problem behaviors.

This study was a single-case, multiple baseline across activities study of a verbal and pictorial-plus-verbal work-reinforcement contingency prompt. The participant was a 3-year-old, male child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), who engaged in challenging behaviors, including aggression and verbal protest, when faced with task demand. In baseline, the participant received no prompt regarding any reinforcement contingency and was simply presented with task demand. In the verbal-only treatment condition, the client was given a gestural and verbal prompt indicating that he would receive access to a preferred item after completing the task. In the pictorial-plus-verbal treatment condition, the participant was then given a verbal and gestural prompt regarding the work-reinforcement contingency but was also shown a "first-then" card with pictures representing both "work" and "iPad" (the participant's preferred reinforcer). Direct observation data on challenging behavior (partial interval) and task engagement (whole interval) were recorded for a total of 58, 5-minute sessions across the three task demand conditions. Results showed a notable decline in challenging behavior and increase in task engagement during the course of the study; however, a notable bleed also appears across the different conditions. Some limited support exists for the superiority of a pictorial-plus-verbal contingency prompt.

This study compares the acquisition of social skills in children at-risk for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) enrolled in either an in-home, one-on-one intervention program or an inclusive preschool program. Seventeen children, (mean age = 25 months) identified as at-risk for ASD were recruited from two early intervention programs. Nine children were recruited from a one-on-one, in-home intervention program and eight children were recruited from an inclusive preschool. Children were assessed within eight weeks of entering intervention and then again six months later. At each assessment children and parents participated in the Early Social Communication Scales (ESCS), a structured play observation with a parent and another with a peer, and a video-referenced rating of early reciprocal social behavior (vrRSB) developed in the Constantino Laboratory at Washington University in St. Louis. A repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant decreases in parental ratings of social deficits on the vrRSB (M1=51.24, M2=41.53, F=10.444, p=0.007), and an increase in rate of initiating joint attention with the experimenter on the ESCS (M1=0.64, M2=.91, F=4.92, p=.042) across assessment periods for both groups of children. There were no differences over time or between groups in peer play or play with parents.

Video modeling has shown promise as an effective strategy for teaching children with autism social skills as well as daily living skills. Different forms of video modeling exist but to date little research has investigated the relative effectiveness. The aim of the present study was to examine the comparative efficacy of conventional scene view (video self-modeling; VSM) and first-person perspective (point-of-view modeling; POVM) procedural types in improving the social skills and daily living skills of four school-ready children with autism. Each child was taught two target skills, one using POVM and one with VSM. It was hypothesised that POVM would be more effective for teaching daily living skills, while VSM would be more effective at teaching social skills. The results partly support the hypothesis: Though there was no difference in the effectiveness of either forms of video modeling in teaching daily living skills, VSM was found to be more effective in teaching social skills than POVM. The findings of the current study provide a novel contribution to the expanding VM evidence base, indicating that VSM is a superior procedure compared to POVM for improving the social outcomes of children with autism.

The presentation compares dyad with 1:1 instruction for the acquisition of functional waiting skills in children with autism at multiple center-based, applied behavior analytic programs. This study consisted of 21 participants diagnosed with moderate to profound autism, aged 20 months through 13 years. One group was instructed through dyad instructional design, the remaining participants were instructed in one-to-one instructional design. Data indicate those taught in dyad design required an average of 8.69 days to reach mastery of each of seven instructional steps associated with task analysis; resulting in an average of 53 sessions to reach program mastery. The one-to-one instructional design group required an average of 6.52 days of instruction to reach mastery of each of seven instructional steps associated with task analysis; resulting in an average of 46 sessions of instruction to program mastery. Present data indicate the participants instructed in a dyad design acquired mastery of each instructional step at a rate 33.26% slower than those taught the skill in a one-to-one instructional design. In addition, the data indicate that the length of time necessary to achieve mastery of the program was 15.07% longer for children instructed in a dyad design versus those taught in a one-to-one design.

Children in early intervention require effective reinforcers to learn new skills, and the type of reinforcer that is most effective can be difficult to determine in some cases. The present case study examines the effect of tangible reinforcer, verbal praise, and removal of demand on the rate of correct responding while teaching receptive identification targets in a nonverbal child with autism. It is hypothesized that the participant will acquire targets at a faster rate during removal of demand as results from previous preference assessments have shown an inconsistency in determining a preferred reinforcer. A single subject alternating treatments design will be used to avoid periods of time with no intervention and to quickly compare which intervention is working at a faster rate. This case study will attempt to demonstrate the importance of choosing appropriate reinforcers when teaching new skills to young children with autism.

This study compared the latency of behavior change using differential reinforcement of other behaviors with or without the contingency stated. The intervention aimed to decrease socially inappropriate communication and increase appropriate communication in an 8-year-old female with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A functional analysis of repetitive language indicated that the behavior was automatically maintained. The study followed an ABAB design and data were collected on the frequency of challenging behavior and appropriate communication. One intervention phase used differential reinforcement of other behaviors without stating the contingency before the trial. The second intervention phase was the same as the first, but added a statement indicating the contingency in place before each session. The study assessed the number of sessions necessary to reach a pre-determined criterion of low rates of behavior in each intervention phase. Results indicate that differential reinforcement of other behaviors reduced the stereotypic verbal behavior in less than 10 sessions. Data collection was expected to end in December 2012.

Stereotyped behaviors and restricted interests (SBRIs) are a core symptom area associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). However, SBRIs have not received substantial attention in many diagnostic tools including the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV. Recent changes have occurred to further include SBRI symptoms in revised editions of these measures. We previously investigated whether mean SBRI scores on the ADOS are associated with ADOS results and DSM-IV diagnosis. Results indicated a positive relationship, supporting diagnostic validity of SBRI symptoms. In this study, the investigation of this relationship was expanded in a larger cohort. Data was collected from 121 children with a mean age of 7 (standard deviation 2.89, range 19 months-15 years) and included the ADOS SBRI score, ADOS classification, and DSM-IV diagnosis. Analyses of variance indicated mean SBRI scores varied according to both ADOS results (p<.001) and DSM-IV diagnosis (p<.001). Additionally, these findings are being built on by analyzing behavioral subcategories within the SBRI domain including sensory behaviors, and unusually repetitive interests and behaviors, and whether these are related to diagnostic results. In conclusion, the results support the importance of assessment of SBRI symptoms particularly within changing diagnostic frameworks.

Discrete trial training (DTT) has been supported by research as an effective intervention for children with autism. (Smith, 2001) Within this model, varied methods have been used to increase students' success rate. This includes supervision that incorporates written and verbal feedback and follow-up with instructors. (Downs, Downs and Rau, 2008) Additionally, successful implementation of DTT requires timely interventions when data is variable, flat or descending. (Ferraioli, Hughes and Smith, 2006) This study examined students ages 3-6 receiving one hour of 1:1 DTT in an early intervention clinic setting five days a week. Using a single-subject B-A-B-A withdrawal design, students were tracked on their rate of acquisition to establish baseline. In an intervention condition, students received two additional 30-minute blocks of time a week with a specialist who performed visual analysis of data and made changes to aid their learning of new targets. The specialist would also examine the data to check for instructor efficiency and accuracy according to the clinic's data collection protocol. The conditions were then applied a second time to demonstrate replication of findings. The number of mastered targets in both conditions were compared and showed that student progress was more rapid in the intervention condition.

Video modeling has been effective at teaching functional skills for individuals with disabilities. Much of the video modeling literature demonstrates the effects of teacher-direct instruction. This study attempted to increase the independence of the participants by teaching them to independently navigate to a video model on the iPhone to self-instruct on a functional skill (i.e. changing computer memory). In pre-training, all participants were taught to respond to a task direction (e.g. "watch a movie about making popcorn") by independently accessing and viewing a video model on the iPhone for three different tasks. In baseline, participants were presented with a novel skill and natural opportunity probes were used to assess learner performance. Intervention involved presenting the iPhone in the participant's environment. Two participants independently picked up and navigated the iPhone to self-instruct. One participant required verbal prompting. All participants acquired the functional skill of changing computer memory. Future research involves generalizing this self-instructional tool to additional skills, environments, and adults.

Instruction in self-care and hygiene skills is an important component in the education of individuals with developmental disabilities. In this study, a lesson plan was developed to teach a pre-pubescent 12-year-old female student with autism to complete a feminine hygiene routine without engaging in challenging behaviors. At the outset of the study, the participant was highly resistant to using a feminine napkin and would engage in significant head-banging when prompted to use one. To address this, a lesson plan incorporating systematic desensitization, in-vivo modeling, and differential reinforcement was implemented at the participant's school. Results indicated success in increasing the duration of wearing a feminine napkin and generalization to multiple settings.

Behavior analysts often rely on indirect assessments to identify the function of aberrant behaviors (FBA). Indirect assessment information is often collected from parents, practitioners, or other professionals with little to no training in identifying the function of behavior. Indirect assessment is fraught with limitations, primarily that the behavior is not observed in the context in which it occurs and is reported by potentially biased individuals. While indirect assessment may be a necessary component of FBA, it is not sufficient to identify function. The purpose of this poster is to display the discrepancies between function reported from indirect assessment to function demonstrated through direct assessment and experimental analyses.

Clinicians treating children with autism using applied behavior analytic technologies use various modes of assessment to ascertain the function of aberrant behavior. It is often necessary to complete all categories of functional assessments including indirect, descriptive and experimental functional analysis to determine the function of the aberrant behavior. This information is needed to design and implement a treatment plan that directly corresponds with the identified function of the aberrant behavior for that child. The current presentation presents the findings of indirect, descriptive, and experimental functional analysis of aberrant behavior in a 10-year-old girl with autism. The target behaviors assessed were divided into two response classes, physical protest behavior and verbal protest behavior. During the experimental analysis, traditional conditions were conducted. The presenter will describe the findings from each of the assessment modes, indirect, descriptive and experimental functional analysis. Comparisons will be made across the assessments to describe the extent to which each assessment provided the most conclusive results for designing and implementing a treatment plan.

The current study addresses the assessment and treatment of rumination behavior displayed by a 10-year-old male diagnosed with autism. All assessment and treatment conditions were conducted in a special needs private day school. The descriptive assessment indicated that rumination behavior might be maintained by nonsocial reinforcement. A functional analysis was conducted to further investigate the conditions under which rumination would occur. Results showed low, but varied rates of rumination across all conditions, with no clear differentiation among conditions. A multiple-treatment reversal design was selected to assess a variety of previously researched treatments (Sharp, Phillips, & Mudford, 2012; Lang et. al, 2011) for automatically maintained rumination behavior. The three interventions chosen by the IEP team to analyze were reduced liquid at mealtime, gum chewing, and noncontingent food delivery. Results from the treatment assessment show that rumination rates dropped to near zero levels during the reduced liquid condition and returned to baseline levels when the treatment was removed, and then back to near zero level when treatment was re-administered, suggesting that reduced liquid at mealtimes was effective at reducing rumination for this individual.

In this study, a functional analysis was conducted with a 7-year-old male with autism, who was engaging in stereotypy in the home and community. His stereotypic behavior was interfering with skill acquisition during his home-based programming. Traditional functional analysis conditions were modified to address the contexts in which behavior change is required. Nontraditional conditions were gathered from direct observation data. Additional conditions included diverted attention, escape from a motor response, and escape from a verbal response. The presenters will describe the results of the functional analysis and treatment analysis.

Vollmer, Marcus, Ringdahl, and Roane (1995) developed an experimental analysis sequence intended to control for experimental confounds (e.g., interaction effects) that progresses through phases; the process begins with brief analyses before more extended analyses are conducted. In the current case study, a variation of the sequence described by Vollmer et al. (1995), was used to determine the reinforcers maintaining the participant's engagement in self-injurious behavior (SIB); a multielement functional analysis (FA) with extended conditions and a component analysis were required because the initial multielement FA yielded inconclusive results. The additional analyses conducted included (1) an extended ignore condition, (2) the repeated presentation of each social reinforcement condition, and (3) a component analysis. Utilization of extended analyses led to a successful identification of the maintaining variables; SIB during both attention and tangible conditions occurred at higher levels than in the ignore and demand conditions, indicating that the participant's SIB was maintained by positive reinforcement in the form of attention and access to tangibles.

We examined the relationship between mass trialing during therapy sessions with children with autism and the use of two data sheet formats. Clinicians generally recognize that mass trialing target items does not promote the development of appropriate discrimination skills. In data sheet 1, therapists had the opportunity to run one program with three possible targets. In data sheet 2, therapists could run multiple programs with three possible targets per program. We randomly presented the two data sheet versions to different therapists on an alternative schedule across different therapy sessions. The dependent variables measured were the amount of mass trials during therapy sessions, and the amount of programs ran across skills domains. The independent variable was the use of two different data sheet types during therapy sessions. Preliminary data show an increase in mass trialing when data sheet 1 was used compared to data sheet 2. Data sheet 2 was found to increase the number of target items ran across domains. Based on the present results, it appears that data sheet 2 prompted therapists to run more targets across program domains and decrease mass trialing. The present study highlights the need to analyze data sheet format and the effects on negative therapy practices during teaching sessions with children with autism.

Increasing the number of learning opportunities during applied behavior analysis therapy with children with autism has been found to be one of several factors that comprise best treatment practice. Variability of trial rate presentation among therapists of different experience levels has not been widely studied. We investigated the relationship between trial rate presentation during therapy and therapists' experience level. We further analyzed three teams of therapists to determine if overall team experience was correlated with higher team trial presentation rate and higher child learning rate. Therapy sessions were video recorded and coded for trial presentation rate among therapists with different experience levels and the child's learning rate. Therapy experience was measured via staff records to define the experience level of working with children with autism. Preliminary data indicates a general positive correlation between more experienced therapists and trial presentation rate. More experienced therapists, on average, had a higher trial presentation rate compared to less experienced therapists. The team composed of more experienced therapists also had the child with the highest learning rate. Results support past findings that increasing the number of learning trials during therapy with children with autism is, at least, correlated with a higher learning rate. Present findings also indicate that team experience may positively affect outcomes in children with autism.

Evidence-based treatments for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are comprised of multiple components or strategies that identify specific therapist behavior necessary to implement the treatment with integrity. Some components included in evidence-based treatments for ASD are shared across approaches from diverse theoretical backgrounds; understanding what pieces of these components are essential to treatment efficacy may help simplify implementation. One component included in several interventions that has not been researched in isolation is turn taking, or the manner in which the therapist facilitates back and forth interaction with the child. The current study utilized an alternating treatments design to examine the efficacy of four types of turn taking used in ASD treatments. Six children, ages 30 to 39 months, received six sessions of naturalistic, behavioral treatment while therapists systematically varied the nature of the turn taking component across sessions. Children's communication and play behaviors during sessions were behaviorally scored to examine differences based on turn condition. Consistent patterns of communication and play behavior across children varied by condition. Overall, results suggest that the optimal type of turn is dependent on the child's developmental level and the target skill. Implications for treatment of children with ASD and future research directions are discussed.

Two individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who exhibit sexually inappropriate and deviant behaviors each participated in a single subject research design study. The procedure included the use of a three-step series of exercises that were required to be practiced by each individual 14 times per day and again following any occurrence of the problem behavior or any precursor topography related to the occurrence of the problem behavior. Behavioral approaches to the treatment of individuals with ASD who exhibit inappropriate sexual behaviorsare sparce. According to the literature (Fyffe, Kahng, Fittro & Russell, 2004), functional communication training and extinction have demonstrated reduced levels of sexually inappropriate behaviors, but not for either of these students who have an ASD diagnosis versus traumatic brain injury. Our understanding of sexual development of individuals with ASD remains very limited (Realmuto & Ruble, 1999). A predisposition to behaviors that are self-stimulatory and socially unacceptable behaviors that are sexually inappropriate or deviant in nature may be related to the defining characteristics of autism (Realmuto & Ruble, 1999). Testostorone suppressing medications, social skills/ awareness training containing social and sexual concepts as well as rule governing, functional analysis, satiation therapy, contingency shaping procedures, visualization techniques, and other interventions have begun to be explored.

The high-probability request sequence is an intervention involving both antecedent and consequential components used to increase compliance to a low-probability request that immediately follows a series of high-probability requests. Previous research on the high-probability request sequence has primarily focused on manipulating the response-reinforcer relation, in which a range of three to five high-probability requests were employed as a constant variable. However, an experimental analysis across varying ratios in the sequence has yet to be demonstrated in the literature. The purpose of this study is to examine if varying ratios of high-probability requests will result in differential effects on escape-maintained challenging behaviors, correctness and latency of response to subsequently delivered low-probability requests in children with autism during discrete trial training. A multielement and repeated acquisitions design is in use to compare across three conditions (zero [control], two and four high-probability requests). Preliminary results for participant 1 show that his challenging behaviors were associated with skills in the acquisition phase of learning and that the number of requests within a high-probability request sequence may be functionally related to levels of challenging behavior and correctness of response to the following low-probability request. Implications for practice and future research will be presented.

Non-Public Agencies (NPAs), which receive reimbursement from the state for services rendered, have strict guidelines to follow in order to receive reimbursement. This study examined the effects of verbal feedback and public posting on increasing staff accuracy of the state-mandated parent signature forms. Verbal feedback has proven effective across a variety of skill acquisition tasks including increasing customer service of bank tellers (Crowell, Anderson, Abel, & Sergio 1988) and increasing verbal behavior of paranoid schizophrenics (Wincze, Leitenberg, & Agras 1972). Public posting has proven effective in increasing staff performance of jobs completed (Pommer & Streedbeck, 1974), increasing player performance in collegiate football games (Smith & Ward, 2006), and in reducing speeding (Ragnarsson & Bjorgvinsson, 1991). The study consisted of an ABAB experimental design with intervention conditions followed by a return to baseline. The posting of accuracy percentages was placed near the employee common area where all had access. Additionally, feedback was given immediately and was specific to each participant. Results indicate that the intervention was effective in reducing error rates for all four staff members. Results revealed a significant error reduction from an average of eight per week to one per week.

The most frequently used methods for assessing an individual's ability to perform a chained task are through single opportunity probes (SOP) and multiple opportunity probes (MOP), (Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2005). Of the two procedures, SOP are easier and less time consuming but may suppress actual performance. In comparison, MOP give more information, but there is a chance the individual will learn the steps from probing alone (Snell & Brown, 2006). First, a review was conducted of the literature to summarize the probe procedures used in single subject research that targeted chained tasks in individuals with developmental disabilities from 2002-12. Hand searches are being conducted in eight journals (e.g., Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities). Studies are being categorized by the type of probe procedure used (i.e., SOP, MOP, combination, or other procedure) and 31 studies have been identified that meet the inclusion criteria. Preliminary data suggest that 25.81% of studies used SOP, 25.81% used MOP, and 48.38% used another procedure, combination, or the procedure was unspecified. The studies are being analyzed to look at trends in probe procedures used based on independent variables, reinforcement, skills targeted and data on participants' responding in baseline and intervention conditions.

This study examined the effects of discontinuous and continuous data collection and graphing procedures on the efficiency of instruction. Compared were the outcomes of discontinuous (i.e., data collection on only the first trial of the session) and continuous (i.e., data collection during all trials of the session) data collection procedures on mastery of tacts and intraverbals with two boys diagnosed with Fragile X and autism. In addition, the efficiency of instruction was compared with graphed data daily versus weekly. The results indicated that discontinuous data collection incorrectly indicated mastery of skills, and infrequent graphing (i.e., weekly) reduced the efficiency of instruction. The implications for practice and potential areas for future research will be discussed.

A multiple-probe design across word sets was used to evaluate the effectiveness of group reinforcement used with a constant time-delay prompting procedure with SMART Board technology to teach sight words to a group of three preschool and elementary-aged students receiving special education services. Measures of observational learning and incidental information acquisition were also assessed, along with generalization through pre- and post-tests. Target stimuli were environmental sight words found in halls and classrooms of participants' primary school. Incidental information was presented as instructive feedback in the form of Dolch sight words. Multiple exemplars of target stimuli, reinforcement, and incidental information were presented via SMART Board technology for the first word set. A token economy was established for the remaining word sets and SMART Board delivered reinforcement was removed because of participant nonresponding. Results show that CTD procedures with SMART Board Technology was effective for one participant when SMART Board delivered reinforcement was present. CTD procedures with SMART Board Technology with a token economy was effective for all three participants in acquiring target sight words, some nontarget sight words, some incidental information, and generalizing information.

Multiple exemplar training involves teaching one exemplar to mastery and probing for generalization across untrained stimuli. Training with additional exemplars continues until the results of generalization probes indicate high levels of correct responding across all untrained exemplars. Previous research shows that multiple exemplar training produces stimulus generalization after teaching just a few exemplars. However, it remains unclear whether this procedure is more efficient than teaching multiple exemplars at the same time. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the most efficient instructional method that produced stimulus generalization. In one condition, three exemplars of a stimulus simultaneously were trained and probed for generalization to three untrained exemplars. In a second condition, one exemplar at a time was trained and probes to measure generalization to not-yet trained exemplars (i.e., multiple exemplar training) were conducted. Mastery and generalization were compared across conditions within an adapted alternating treatments design embedded within a modified multiple probe design with one child diagnosed with autism. The results showed that training multiple stimuli simultaneously was more efficient instructional strategy than multiple exemplar training.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) lack social skills, and this limitation causes problems during their interpersonal and social relationships in life. The study was designed to investigate the social validity of family-delivered social stories in teaching social skills to youths with ASD. A norm group with typical youths was formed to compare their social skills performace with youths with ASD. Pre-post test design was used in the study. Findings showed there was a significant difference on the pretest measures between youths with ASD and their norm group, typical youths. After youths with ASD took family-delivered social story intervention, they performed the social skills taught in the study very similiar to their norm groups. Implications and recommendations of the study will be shared during presentation.

24 paraprofessionals in the school system were divided into 2 groups. Both groups received a pre-test that involved a role-play that showed how well the trainee was able to successfully perform the targeted skills. Group A was trained by the Train-To-Code software that taught discrete trial, identified types of prompts and how to engage the consumer/student in errorless learning. Group B received training in topics determined by the school district. The training did not, in any way, cover the topics targeted by the Train-To-Code software. Group B was also given a second pre-test identical to the first. The groups then switched, with Group A trained in topics determined by the school district and Group B received the Train-To-Code software training. Group B was given an application based role play style post-test identical to the pre-test. At the end, both groups were given an application based role play style post-test identical to the pre-test. Participants performed better on the post-test(s), suggesting that the TTC software had an effect on the participants ability to learn the foundational skills necessary to work with children with autism.